Animalmercenary reviews War of the Roses (PC)

Ah a good old bash at English history with Mount and Blade throw backs and indepth medieval warfare will leave you asking: Do I throw in with the house of Lancaster or the Yorkist dogs? Well, I as a reviewer I have to remain neutral in that awnser... But let's face it Lancaster is better.

Story: Well, although War of the Roses is a multiplayer only game, allow me to fill you in on some history and how the game links in. War of the Roses is set in the time period of... Well... the war of the roses, when the house of York and Lancaster went head to head for the throne of England. Needless to say the people of both houses took up arms and fought for their lord to become king of England. In this game, you are one of those people. Starting the game with four pre-made classes to play with, you earn money in the traditional medieval manner of bashing other people in the face with anything you can get your hands on. However, you soon unlock the ability to create your own class, and that's when the game really sets you into the time period. Where as traditional multiplayer only titles allow you to customise primary and secondary weapons, War of the Roses lets you to customise your weapons but also what stance you use and what types of metals and handles you use, its really indepth and every decision you make affects your combat effectiveness and how you fight, and in this game; that is all that matters.

Gameplay: War of the Roses is the unofficial sequel to the Mount and Blade and utilises the same four directory offensive and defensive system. Move the mouse up, down, left or right whilst pressing the left or right mouse button to attack or defend in that direction. I have said it before, I shall say it again: this combat system is easy to learn but difficult to master, and that is particuarly apparent when the horrible Yorkist scum are charging with their peasant-weapons towards the heroic Lancstrian castle. There is a bit of a concern in a multiplayer setting however, as the game is easily exploited by players who randomly slash with their swords or maces which, whilst realistic, is very effective bordering on game breakingly over powered. Its actually so present that server rules discourage it and encourage tactical, well timed swings instead. There is a concern about micro transactions in the game aswell, however it is easily overlooked as the game features a very strict leveling system, resticting what players can buy with micro transactions.

Graphics: War of the Roses is one of the best looking low-budget games out there. The ways in which the sunlight gleams off of soldiers' armour and weapons is breath taking and looks very impressive especially considering the game's scale and map sizes. There are so many little thing to notice that really imerses you into the overall experince and (as you probably know) that is all that really matters in the end. There are games that have bad mechanics or graphics that have still managed to draw players in to the experience thanks to immersive content and in this game the immersion is very noticable.

Overall an amazing game with addictive gameplay and bucket loads of immersive content which always leaves me asking for more. Or preferably just a singleplayer mode.